Does our hair actually undergo a renaissance every seven years?

Just like our fashion aesthetic, our hair is said to have different eras. If you’ve heard of the 7 year hair cycle, you’ll already be familiar with the school of thought that our hair undergoes a renaissance every seven years.

The only difference? The latter is down to biology vs whatever’s trending on TikTok. For instance, you might have had your Baby Hair Era, your Teen Hair Era, your Uni Hair Era and so on. Instead of being categorised but whatever trending hairstyle was blowing up at the time though, the 7 year hair cycle may see a change in texture, density even colour, over style.

We spoke to Jane Martins, Senior Consultant Trichologist at Philip Kingsley, to find out how much truth there actually is to the 7 year hair cycle.

What is the theory about the seven year hair cycle and is it true?

“There is a theory that with the seven year hair cycle, the hair resets and can change in texture and length,” says Jane. “However, in the case of temporary hair shedding (telogen effluvium) where there is an increase in the number of hairs being shed as a result of illness, diet and stress (amongst other things), this will resolve itself once causative factors are addressed and will not impact on the diameter of the hair,” she says.

Does your hair really change every seven years?

“The human hair follicle grows in a continuous cyclical pattern. It’s growing phase, known as anagen determines how long the hair can grow and can last up to 7 years (depending on the individual),” Jane explains. “If your hair growth cycle is constantly disrupted, for example if it’s not supported with good nutrition, you may find that your hair will not grow as long as it used to. This is because the hairs are never allowed to stay in the anagen phase long enough to reach the desired length,” she says.

What are the different hair phases?

Alongside “eras” our hair has different phases. Jane explains each below…